Welcome to our stop on Get Dirty tour for Gretchen McNeil. This tour is hosted by Me, My Shelf and I.
Don't Get Mad #2
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery
Released: June 16, 2015
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
The members of Don’t Get Mad aren’t just mad anymore . . . they’re afraid. And with Margot in a coma and Bree stuck in juvie, it’s up to Olivia and Kitty to try to catch their deadly tormentor. But just as the girls are about to go on the offensive, Ed the Head reveals a shocking secret that turns all their theories upside down. The killer could be anyone, and this time he—or she—is out for more than just revenge.
The girls desperately try to discover the killer’s identity as their personal lives are falling apart: Donté is pulling away from Kitty and seems to be hiding a secret of his own, Bree is under house arrest, and Olivia’s mother is on an emotional downward spiral. The killer is closing in, the threats are becoming more personal, and when the police refuse to listen, the girls have no choice but to confront their anonymous friend . . . or die trying.
Excerpt
Olivia’s elation turned to anger as she spun around and found Ed the Head’s grinning face in the doorway. “Where have you been?”
“The moon and back, baby,” he said, pumping his eyebrows.
Kitty took a step closer to him. “I’ve called you approximately seven thousand times since Thursday night. Nothing but voice mail. You want to explain that?”
Ed the Head shrugged. “I flushed it. The component pieces of the burner phone formerly belonging to Ed the Head are now floating somewhere in the San Francisco Bay.”
“Why did you flush your phone?” Olivia asked.
“Well, last I checked, I was texting with Margot just a few hours before she was attacked. Every cop in town is probably trying to find that phone.”
Kitty narrowed her eyes. “That sounds like an admission of guilt.”
Ed calmly pulled out a chair and sat down. “Ladies, chill. If I attacked Margot, do you think I’d be here right now talking to you?”
Olivia exchanged a glance with Kitty. He had a point.
“Why are you here?” Kitty asked.
Ed the Head slipped a piece of paper from the front pocket of his bag. “I wanted to show you this.”
Kitty snatched the paper from his hand, glancing at it briefly. “It’s a speeding ticket.”
“Highway 101 North,” Olivia read from the carbon copy. “Exit three sixty-seven, Morgan Hill.”
Ed the Head nodded. “Check the date and time.”
Olivia’s eyes zipped to the top of the form. “October seventh, nine thirty pm.”
“Exactly,” Ed said. “And Margot was attacked at approximately nine fifty according to the police report. There’s no way I could’ve made it forty miles in fifteen minutes. I didn’t do it.”
“Then why did you wait three days to tell us?” Kitty asked.
Ed dropped the glib facade, his face suddenly hard. “Because you were the only ones who knew I was supposed to meet Margot that night.”
Olivia stiffened. “What are you trying to say?”
“It might have crossed my mind that you were setting me up to take the fall.”
“You think we tried to kill Margot?” Olivia asked, horrified. “She’s our friend, you little weasel. If you think for a second—”
“Was she really your friend?” Ed jutted out his chin. “I seem to recall some pretty horrific photos of Margot from back in junior high.” He pointed at her accusingly. “Photos you took.”
Olivia’s hands began to shake as the shame of what she’d done to Margot washed over her anew. “Oh yeah?” she said, lashing out. “Well, how do we know you’re not Christopher Beeman?” She wasn’t entirely sure it made sense, but someone had to be Christopher, and they were running out of options.
Instead of denying it, Ed the Head burst out laughing.
“Why is that funny?” Kitty asked.
“If I’m Christopher Beeman,” Ed gasped, “I’ve got bigger problems than a murder rap.”
A creeping sensation spread down Olivia’s spine, as if she’d just backed into a spiderweb. Something about Ed’s tone put her on edge. “What do you mean?”
“That’s what I discovered in Arizona,” he said. “Christopher Beeman is dead.”
“The moon and back, baby,” he said, pumping his eyebrows.
Kitty took a step closer to him. “I’ve called you approximately seven thousand times since Thursday night. Nothing but voice mail. You want to explain that?”
Ed the Head shrugged. “I flushed it. The component pieces of the burner phone formerly belonging to Ed the Head are now floating somewhere in the San Francisco Bay.”
“Why did you flush your phone?” Olivia asked.
“Well, last I checked, I was texting with Margot just a few hours before she was attacked. Every cop in town is probably trying to find that phone.”
Kitty narrowed her eyes. “That sounds like an admission of guilt.”
Ed calmly pulled out a chair and sat down. “Ladies, chill. If I attacked Margot, do you think I’d be here right now talking to you?”
Olivia exchanged a glance with Kitty. He had a point.
“Why are you here?” Kitty asked.
Ed the Head slipped a piece of paper from the front pocket of his bag. “I wanted to show you this.”
Kitty snatched the paper from his hand, glancing at it briefly. “It’s a speeding ticket.”
“Highway 101 North,” Olivia read from the carbon copy. “Exit three sixty-seven, Morgan Hill.”
Ed the Head nodded. “Check the date and time.”
Olivia’s eyes zipped to the top of the form. “October seventh, nine thirty pm.”
“Exactly,” Ed said. “And Margot was attacked at approximately nine fifty according to the police report. There’s no way I could’ve made it forty miles in fifteen minutes. I didn’t do it.”
“Then why did you wait three days to tell us?” Kitty asked.
Ed dropped the glib facade, his face suddenly hard. “Because you were the only ones who knew I was supposed to meet Margot that night.”
Olivia stiffened. “What are you trying to say?”
“It might have crossed my mind that you were setting me up to take the fall.”
“You think we tried to kill Margot?” Olivia asked, horrified. “She’s our friend, you little weasel. If you think for a second—”
“Was she really your friend?” Ed jutted out his chin. “I seem to recall some pretty horrific photos of Margot from back in junior high.” He pointed at her accusingly. “Photos you took.”
Olivia’s hands began to shake as the shame of what she’d done to Margot washed over her anew. “Oh yeah?” she said, lashing out. “Well, how do we know you’re not Christopher Beeman?” She wasn’t entirely sure it made sense, but someone had to be Christopher, and they were running out of options.
Instead of denying it, Ed the Head burst out laughing.
“Why is that funny?” Kitty asked.
“If I’m Christopher Beeman,” Ed gasped, “I’ve got bigger problems than a murder rap.”
A creeping sensation spread down Olivia’s spine, as if she’d just backed into a spiderweb. Something about Ed’s tone put her on edge. “What do you mean?”
“That’s what I discovered in Arizona,” he said. “Christopher Beeman is dead.”
Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen blogs with The Enchanted Inkpot and was a founding member of the vlog group the YARebels. She is repped by Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd.
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